


Like Gravity

by ForensicSpider98



Series: Love After the Fact [45]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, All this stress is bad for the baby, Altean Adam (Voltron), Altean Prince Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Balmeran Hunk (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Galra Shiro (Voltron), Galran Prince Keith (Voltron), Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Moral Ambiguity, Moral Dilemmas, Multi, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Olkari Pidge | Katie Holt, Post-War, it's keith. keith is the baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24473047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForensicSpider98/pseuds/ForensicSpider98
Summary: I'm drawn to you.NOTICE: I am taking requests for the 50th episode! Let me know what you want to see in the comments below!
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Alfor/Coran (Voltron), Allura/Lotor/Romelle (Voltron), Haggar/Zarkon (Voltron), Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Love After the Fact [45]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1635043
Comments: 47
Kudos: 202





	Like Gravity

Lance starts at the hiss of the pod, snatches up the thick blanket a servant delivered, runs over just in time to catch Keith as he falls out of it. His fur is distractingly soft, silken, with the exception of coarser hair running in a dorsal line along his spine. He wraps his cold, naked spouse in the blanket, careful to cover him so he’s more comfortable.

“Hey, beloved. You’re alright. You’re all fixed up.”

“Lance?” Violet eyes flutter open, slanted pupils dilating in the dim light. Keith is shivering, though from fear of the pod or just the cold Lance isn’t sure. They sit like that for a minute, Keith curling into the warmth of Lance’s body, Lance running his hands over his form to warm him up.

“Thought you guys might leave me in there,” he mumbles. “Thanks for… not doing that. And staying.”

Lance brushes a thumb over Keith’s cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Cold… Do you have some clothes I could wear?”

“Yes, here.” Lance hands over a set of nightclothes. “Do you need help?”

“No.” Keith pulls the shirt over his head. Lance pulls his hair out from under it, braiding the tangled mess to contain it just a bit. “I can- Actually, can you help me stand?”

“Sure.” Hoisting Keith to his feet, Lance helps his spouse keep steady while he pulls on his underclothes and nightpants. “Thanks. For letting me help.”

“Yeah, well… I’m not exactly good at asking for it.” Keith wraps the blanket back around his shoulders.

“And I smother you a little, don’t I?” Lance chuckles when Keith dodges his gaze. “Let’s just try to do a little bit better from now on, shall we?”

“Okay.” Keith’s hands are still trembling, as is the rest of him. “Can we go back to our room?”

“Will you feel safe there?”

“I spent eleven years in the same den I lived in when Alteans found and murdered my father.”

“...Our room it is.” Lance slings Keith’s arm over his shoulder, slips his own around Keith’s waist. On their way out of the room, he leans over to one of the guards. “Have someone send some Galran cuisine to our room, please.”

The guard nods, and the princes proceed to their room in silence. Lance lets Keith have his silence, unsure how he feels about the events of tonight. It’s not until they’re back in their room, now smelling of cleaning solution, that Keith speaks.

“I’m glad you’re alright. When that assassin was leaning over you, I was… I was angry. They were going to take you from me, and I was angry.”

Lance stares at the kit, bites his lip. “Come here for a minute. We have to wait for your food anyway.”

“I’m really not hungry…”

“I know, but trust me, you want to eat something after being in the pod. You’ll recover much more quickly.”

Lance sits them both down on the sofa. Keith nibbles lightly at his lip, glaring at their hands, settled together, loosely joined where their legs touch. After a moment, the Galra scoffs, giving up. “I wish I were still drunk. Stupid pod.”

All Lance can do is laugh at how wonderfully his spouse broke that tension, how he chose to break it on a smile instead of a sigh. “I don’t. Not even a little.”

“Really? I assumed I’m more fun when I’m drunk.”

“You’re certainly more… sociable, but I dunno.” Lance smiles, trails knuckles down Keith’s cheek. “Perhaps I’m biased, but I think you’re wonderful no matter what.”

Gulping, Keith searches for his courage, finds it gone. He can’t. He can’t make himself any more vulnerable than he already has. So he leans away, surrenders to keeping what they already have a while longer.

Lance, however, watches those walls creep back up with more than mild dissatisfaction. He’s spent phoebs building this relationship with Keith. He’s not about to let fear get in the way of that. Still, Lance will make sure that progress is made willingly.

“Did you change your mind about your bet with Shiro? It’s alright if you did.” he watches Keith’s face, those wilted ears, that limp tail. At his question, delicate, purple fingers find the tangled end of that long braid.

“I… No. I haven’t.”

“Good. Because I made you a promise some hours ago and I intend-”

The door opens, and Adam slips in, all but stumbling under the weight of exhaustion. He’s carrying a plate of food for Keith. Lance raises an eyebrow in question, and Adam explains. “Never send a guard to do my job, your Majesty.”

“Fuck off with the ‘your Majesty’, Adam.” Lance sighs. “Honestly, it’s such nonsense.”

“‘Kay!” the Altean chirps, never too tired to be a smartass.

“You’re taking the rest of today off. And tomorrow. If anyone catches you working, they will take your datapad. Understood?”

Adam glares, but eventually nods. “The interrogations were fruitless, by the way. As we knew they would be. All I got for my trouble was being electrocuted by Pidge when I woke them up and again when they realized what I was looking for.”

“Thank you, Adam. Enjoy your rest, my friend. You sorely need it.”

After Adam retreats, Keith’s still sitting frozen, back rigid as a board even as his body visibly trembles from the effort. The healing pod seems to have left him more drained than it would an Altean. Lance decides to give him a reprieve.

“Hey.” Keith jumps when he speaks, winces like he’s sore. Lance squeezes his hand. “Try to eat at least a little. It’ll help, I promise.”

“Okay.” Keith stares at the plate of food. It’s mostly meat, with some beans, a bit of fruit, and two portions of bread. He nibbles the end of one of the pieces of bread, setting the other aside for Lance. To his surprise, the moment the bread hits his slightly queasy stomach, he’s ravenous and wolfing down the rest of his food. Next to him, Lance nibbles his bread.

"I'm never gonna get over how delicious this stuff is. It's so much better than Altean bread."

“You’ll love Daibazaal,” Keith whispers. _You’ll love the rain._

“I know.” Lance grins around the crust of his bread. “I can’t wait to see it!”

“Me neither,” Keith whispers, smile more than a little sad. "Daibazaal is my home."

“Hey.” Finishing his snack, Lance helps his tired spouse to his feet, pulls him into an embrace. It’s a real one, genuine, with a tangible purpose. It’s private, not a display, but a moment of vulnerability. “I’m gonna take you home. You can drag me all over the planet and show me all of your favorite things and your mother can terrorize me the entire time, okay?”

Keith laughs into his shoulder, though Lance distinctly hears a sniffle. He doesn’t mention it. “She hates you.”

“Yeah, that’s partially Lanval’s fault. But I won’t take it personally. I stole you away from her. She’s allowed to be angry.”

Lance gently coaxes Keith to step back, guides him over to their bed, remade in their absence. “There are guards outside the walls, by the way. And tomorrow, Pidge will work on heightening our security tech.”

“Sounds good.” 

Keith sits on the bed, rubs at his sleepy eyes. When he drags them open, peering up at Lance, The Altean is gazing at him, blue eyes glittering softly as he dims the lights. Reaching out, Keith cautiously lifts one of Lance’s hands to his cheek, holding it there, feeling that familiar brush of Lance’s thumb.

Keith tilts his head back, closes his eyes just in time for the brush of Lance’s lips. It's the briefest of things, more a flutter of contact than anything else, and after everything he’s endured getting to this point, it’s not enough for Keith.

“That,” he whispers, reaching up with tired limbs to cradle Lance’s face in his hands. “Was extremely inadequate.”

It’s all they need.

Lance surges forward, looming over Keith as their lips press together again. This time it’s firm, assured, no fear or worry. No stress. No looming deadlines. No nosy courtiers. No pushy fathers...

It's just them, and the warmth between them. Keith opens his mouth, Lance’s smooth tongue slipping over his raspy one. He can feel Lance's smile against his lips, under his fingers where they brush against the Altean's cheeks. His finger slide up into Lance's feather-light hair, silken soft, so soft he can barely feel it. Just as pampered as Keith had imagined, but far, far kinder. Far more devoted. Just... better.

As Lance presses closer, tension works its way under his skin, instincts forever wary no matter how safe he knows he is. Lance pulls back immediately, their noses still touching, their breaths shared between them. Keith's never been so close, but now, he can see the finer details of Lance's eyes, the way the blues and pinks blend together like shards of a morning sky, like opals. He could stare at them forever and still find some new fragment to admire.

“Lance?”

“Hm?” 

“Will you-” Keith gulps, tugs on strands of starlight hair. “Will you… stay close? Tonight?”

“Scooch over,” Lance whispers, slipping into the bed beside him.

To Lance’s surprise, Keith rolls over, snuggles right up against him, tucks his head beneath his chin. At first, everything is fine, Lance enjoying Keith’s warmth, the physical contact that he’s missed the past few phoebs. There's sweetness in how Keith returns his embrace, gentle hands, warmth at ever point of contact. But after a dobosh, Keith’s breath begins to hitch, coming rapid, fingers curling into Lance’s nightshirt.

“Are you alright, beloved?”

“I- I’m fine. It’s just been a while since I- Since anybody- It’s distressing, going from not having anybody to having someone again.”

“Do you want me to move?”

“No! No, I-” Those fingers tighten, and Keith’s tail curls over Lance’s waist.

“Okay.” Lance rubs warm circles into Keith’s back. “It’s okay, beloved. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

“Please stay.”

“Of course. I’m sorry. We should have done this sooner.” 

“I didn’t want it. You were a stranger. And… I wasn’t ready to ask.”

“Fair enough.” Lance rubs the base of his ear, kisses the thin cartilage. "But you don't have to sleep alone, okay? I've missed having somebody too, so it's good for both of us."

"Yeah... Lance?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad I have you."

"I'm glad I have you, too." By the time Keith’s settled and fallen asleep, softly purring, the sky above them is a paling shade of amethyst. Lance can’t help but think it’s the exact shade of Keith's eyes. “Sleep well, beloved.”

He nuzzles into Keith’s hair, breathing in the slightly soured scent, hardly caring. It's the first genuinely deep sleep he's seen from Keith, and at this point, he’s just grateful they're both still here.

They're both still here, drawn together by gravity.

**Author's Note:**

> Next time on Love After the Fact: Adam and Shiro begin an investigation of their own because he's a workaholic who refuses to sleep, dammit!


End file.
